3/30/2010

Kind of hard to know what to make of this, but its definitely strange. Does it make any fucking sense whatsoever? No. But that really doesn't matter because it's weird in a total nightmare kind of way which I guess works for it somehow...

3/23/2010

Before I get started, please read this and forward it quickly, because I just have an idea some of these pictures (one in particular) are gonna get flagged and we might get shut down for a couple of days. Without further ado…

Finally, and after much anticipation, The Runaways, directed by Floria Sigismondi and starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as Joan Jett and Cherie Curry, respectively, has been released (actually I’m surprised to see how little anticipation there has been.) In my earlier post on the film, I talked about how this film would really be about whether the two starlets could pull off such adult roles after building names for themselves as American PG sweethearts. That remains the only story to tell here. The film was lacking a lot, but it sure as shit wasn’t lacking a performance from either of these two. Both did an awesome job and definitely changed the way I’ll look at either one moving forward.

If I give Sigismondi credit for anything in this film, she had the balls to push the envelope with these girls and convinced them to do some stuff on camera that I never would have thought they’d be cool with. We meet up with 15 year-old Cherie Curry as her legs are dripping with the blood of her first period on the Sunset Strip, on her way to a random hook up with a random guy in the back of his car. They don’t hold back on the drug front, either. My favorite scene is when the girls are en route to Japan and the rodie tells them they’re about to land, so, “if you have any drugs, get rid of them.” Curry and Jett head to the bathroom where they proceed to shovel mountains of blow from their palms, straw free up their noses and onto their tongues, and pop whatever pills they can handle. Ahh, to be a 15-year-old rock star of the 1970’s (sorry, I couldn’t find a picture from thisscene.)Joan Jett is an angry young punk chick, hell bent on changing the face of Rock and Roll at any cost. She’s sick of being told that Rock and Roll is a man’s game and 20 minutes into the movie, I was sick of being reminded of how unfair that is. There is no point in the movie when you aren’t reminded, either by a menacing crowd, Kim Fowley, or Jett, that people don’t want to see girls play rock and roll and that The Runaways have to shove it down their throats. It gets a bit annoying, but not thanks to Stewart who personifies the future Rock Goddess impeccably. From the awkward, developing teen that can’t yet play the guitar, to the fully formed leader of the band, with a mastery of her instrument and the art form, Stewart evolves and grows with the character seamlessly. She manages the tough-guy persona as leather clad leader of a kick-ass punk band without sacrificing her femininity, which really comes across during tender moments between Jett and Curry. Kristen, you really kicked ass here.

Having said all that, Dakota Fanning definitely takes the cake in this film. I’m not surprised that she should be capable of delivering such a stellar performance, she’s been getting nominated for awards since she was a little girl in 2001’s “I am Sam.” What surprises me is that she’s managed to translate her skills as a convincing and heartbreaking child actor to the role of a drug addled sexpot. What’s more, in the role of Cherie Curry we get to see this evolution of a character play out on screen. A better metaphor for this transition than the aforementioned “first period” scene would be tough to come by. When Fowley and Jett spot Curry in Rodney Bingenheimer’s on the Sunset Strip sipping Mountain Dew, she’s still a young girl with stars in her eyes but no marks on her soul. From her botched audition for the band to her ownership of the tough as nails sexpot (a role in which, it’s worth mentioning she did her own singing,) to the washed up drug addict less than two years later, you never get the feeling that she’s faking it. And she’s hot! Fanning has always been adorable and loveable to moviegoers but in this role she needed to shatter her girl-scout next-door persona, and when she’s rocking out seductively onstage in signature Cherie Curry Lingerie, she blows any preconceived notions about her innocence out of the water.

Perhaps the most effective aspect of her performance is not that of the drug addict or the daughter of an alcoholic but that of the fucked up kid discovering herself in a relationship with Joan Jett.

You get the idea that Jett is less than straight, but for Curry, the attraction is less about girls and more about Joan. Joan Jett discovered Curry at a real low point in her life and gave her a purpose. She told her that just by being, she was a superstar and what’s more, she turned her into one. Curry couldn’t even sing before Jett and Fowley came along while Fowley’s help came from a place of greed, Jett’s came from a place of love and adoration.

While we’re on the subject, let’s get into the character of Kim Fowley and his portrayal by Michael Shannon. I couldn’t possibly end this thing without ripping someone apart, right?

While the character of Kim Fowley is undeniably integral to the telling of this story, his representation both in the film as it’s written and by actor Michael Shannon is fucking miserable and one of the film’s biggest drawbacks. While Fowley was definitely an over the top eccentric, the overacting on the part of Shannon shatters any chance this film had at being taken seriously. He is caricatured at best and if at any point you start to enjoy the crazy ride The Runaways are on, he is right around the corner to spoil it for you. I literally went through 2 minute periods that started with me loving the film and ended with me wanting to get up and leave. He just fucking ruins it.

Director Floria Sigismondi may have fumbled here but how can you really blame someone who’s previous directing experience includes only music video compilations for VHI? I want to know who’s job it was to pick such an inexperienced director to direct such an historically significant film? The woman uses headline montages to compress time for crying out loud! The Runaway’s first major show was opening for Cheap Trick at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, but Sigismondi shows none of the bands the girls opened for on their way up. In fact, though this film is about a revolutionary time for Rock and Roll, no music from the era is featured in the film, save a few selections of The Runaway’s music and some Joan Jett songs which came out a couple of years after the film’s conclusion. If Sigismondi had chosen to take advantage of more of the music that inspired Jett and the band they may have been inviting a whole demographic of movie-goers who will surely sit this one out.

All said the movie was sub-par. I have to admit I walked away a little disappointed. There was so much I would have changed, but it’s been a few days now and I can’t get Dakota Fanning’s or Kristen Stewart’s performances out of my head. They didn’t have much to work with, but man, they made the most of it. Two thumbs up or tomatoes or whatever the fuck you prefer, for both of them.

Here’s to hoping “The Dirt”, whenever it comes out is in the hands of a capable director, and a few actors as talented as these two stars.

3/22/2010

I promised some people earlier I would have this review up tonight, but I'm waiting until the morning for two reasons. First, I'm positive these pictures are gonna get flagged for a number of reasons and I want that to happen during the day when at least a couple flockers have had a chance to see'm. Second, I'm going dizzy and I need Ferenzi to check it for spelling errors. ok?

3/16/2010

3/13/2010

Live videos of bands off stage are becoming a new phenomenon on the internet these days with people like Vincent Moon of La Blogotheque creating some amazing stuff with the right bands. I am someone who sees a shit ton of these videos and am rarely impressed due to lack of production quality etc. But there are a few people out there creating the "good stuff". I came across this video of Wakey! Wakey! covering Yeasayer's "Ambling Alp" and wanted to share it with ya'll. Although everyone in this video looks as if they are hipper then I could ever be they are making good tunes and having fun doing it. Also that violin player has some sweet chops. This video is brought to you by the Goddamn Cobras Collective.

Deleted Scenes released their LP "Birdseed and Shirt" and mentioned in every blurb about them on the web they received a 8.0 rating from the Pitchfork gods. They are from Brooklyn and Washington DC which I thought constitutes mentioning them because the writers of this blog are from exactly those two places. The front man Dan Scheuerman has been quoted saying that Soren Kierkegaard, the nineteenth century philosopher inspired the bands music. Intellectually inspired musicians making memorable melodies...worth checking out. The photo above was taken from their blog and apparently has some members of the family pissed off.

Bernard Lenoir is a radio DJ from France who has a show called C'est Lenoirand he features many of the indie artists we know and love. The shows that he puts on are in front of 200 people, recorded live and called The Black Sessions (Lenoir in French means black) He has been doing this for many years and if you go to www.freewebs.com/blacksessions you can see the amazing catalog that has been forming over the years. You can also purchase all these recordings at that website. Below is the recording of The Kills song "Monkey 23" at their Black Session.

3/09/2010

On March 9th, 1997 Biggie was killed over a disagreement stemming from an interpretation of the lyrics to this song. No one is sure whether or not this song actually references the then recent shooting of Tupac in a New York recording studio, but that soon became besides the point as it kicked off a chain of nasty events which sadly culminated in both their deaths. It's total bullshit, that should never have happened.

Notorious B.I.G-Who Shot Ya?

This is can be found off of Mister Cee's definitive collection of BIggie songs found over here

3/06/2010

I don't know Blu, this is the first jam I ever heard from the dude, but I thought this track was nice, got a cool Billie Holliday sample, and this video compliments the vibe nicely...not you typical rap video

3/04/2010

Here's a jam from our friends Teru'Ah who released Mad Kids in the Holy City around this time last year and we've yet to give them some well deserved shine. Although singer Mike Cades's lyrics are melancholy, they exhibit a degree of wisdom which may belie his age. This is especially true on "Edward Receives A Letter From An Old Friend" a song about the banality of the average man's life, and the seeming inevitability that one's dreams will inevitably be over-run by daily responsibilities until they die.

"If we are reasonable men, its seems absurd to expect anymore than an ill-tempered life."

The excellent production and instrumentation of this track gives Cades's lament a bittersweet quality: a quiet mandolin sets the tone, as the track builds upon a brass band to reach a subdued coda that audibly expresses this sad story of a life filled with regret. Poor Edward.

3/03/2010

It was August, 2005 and I was driving out to Los Angeles with my then girlfriend to try and find work in the film industry. The sun was hot and staring us right in the face as we drove in silence through an endless desert. I was low on cash and not quite ready to move, she was chomping at the bit to head west but wouldn’t leave without me. I didn’t want her to leave without me, either. We were in that uncomfortable point in our relationship when we'd lived together for so long, the outside world seemed scary, no matter how far the two of us had drifted apart since we first fell in love. However we got to where we were, I never would have expected that on that hot day In August of 2005, we’d be burying a hitchhiker together in the Nevada Desert. This song always reminds me of that long, hot day in August of 2005.

3/02/2010

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore both great musicians in their own right have teamed up to come out with Dear Companion. They have received help from My Morning Jackets Yim Yames in the recording process and this album was released last month on Sub Pop Records. A portion of the money made on the album will be donated to Appalachian Voices an organization devoted to ending mountain top removal. The first track is the free download from the album and also included is a song of each of their own solo stuff. Hug a tree, listen to bluegrass and find a better way.

The Hold Steady from Brooklyn (yup thats right kids the BK) are going to release another album on May 4th. Recording took place in Queens at Arctic Studios over a six month period. This will be the fifth album to date since this band began in 2004. Their taste of rock and roll is melodic, punk influenced and fun. I will post a few videos of their older stuff ("Stuck Between Stations" also featured on Flock Alone Mixtape Volume 10). The band will begin their tour in Ardsley NY on 4/2 and it seems to me like an odd set of venues for a band like The Hold Steady. Check out the tour here and buy the new album.

3/01/2010

So The Foals have a new album coming out soon, its called Total Life Forever and considering how fucking rock their first disc was, anticipation is high for this follow up. Initially it seems like they've taken a softer sound this time out, but by the end of the song you realize they haven't lost the intensity that they worked up so well first time out....

Most singles arent almost 7 minutes long and have a video about a guy on a tundra.

This is a short film about a day in New York city, created in miniature with stop motion photography...not sure how it was actually created, but you can find out more here straight from the lips of director Sam O'Hare.